Beyond the End
by Zabbie Q
Summary: Like all great cartoons Kim Possible had to come to an end, but is everyone ready to go into retirement? Kim is sure that everyone will adjust, but now that no one is being paid to do good or evil, how will the line between hero and villain blur?
1. Exposition

A/N: I am not sure how many of you will like this style as it is written similarly to _Who Framed Roger Rabbit?_ and various Warner Brothers cartoons, i.e. the characters are aware that they are cartoons. I hope that you might give it a chance, though.

Disclaimer - I don't own what doesn't belong to me.

--

"One more episode! They couldn't have given me _one_ more episode!" Ron Stoppable complained as he watched his dressing room be cleared out.

"At least we got a _last_ episode," Kim Possible tried to console him, though she could emphasize. It seemed only yesterday that they were making the pilot. She remembered her excitement when she found out that they earned a second season, but here they were post-season four and under 90 episodes. If they could have only have made it to 100, they would have made that cartoon milestone, but what can you do? Actually, the series had stopped with _So the Drama_, but Disney had decided to give them another season. It felt harder for everyone after the second ending, but at least now they all knew what to expect.

Ron, meanwhile, was not ready to accept so soon of a second retirement. "But it was _the_ last episode!" he said helplessly. "No more adventures, no spin-offs, not even a theatrical movie!" He winced as the movers took his souvenirs from Bueno Nacho, and he laid a hand over his heart. "I'm so glad Rufus isn't here to witness this."

Kim rolled her eyes, but she squeezed his shoulder compassionately. "Those _are_ going to your place. Anyway, just think of how many shows and cartoons _never_ get a finale! No resolution at all! They just reach the last aired episode, and the audience is left to wonder. We got _two_ finales."

"Hmmph!"

"At least you can always order from Taco Bell and make homemade nacos," Kim pointed out.

Ron snorted. "I don't tell _you_ to eat arsenic."

Kim shook her head. Ron would have to get over this himself. She could remember how Oscar Proud had reacted when _The Proud Family_ ended, but he eventually enjoyed his new life. Ron would come around. He _was_ an easy-going, devil-may-care guy after all.

As the movers wheeled out his supply of his signature clothing, Kim took Ron's hand in hers and led him past the workmen and into the hallway. She headed in the opposite direction of the moving van, but Ron kept his eyes trained on his things as long as he could before the teenagers themselves exited the studio building.

The slight collection of clouds in the sky promised a pleasant day in the park or a nice drive through town, and Kim hinted at the possibilities as they walked around Disney property, but Ron merely talked about the cartoon park in Middleton. Kim left him alone in thoughts and headed toward the parking area. As they went, the two were greeted by different staff members of the show: engineers, script-writers, animators, musicians, and more. They gave the teenagers congratulations, and Kim returned it with wishing them luck in new employment. Ron was stone silent, still brooding, but the staff had worked with him long enough to understand his behavior and so took no offense.

Soon they were in the parking lot, and she drove Ron to the resident building that Disney had arranged for them. While maintaining an entire cartoon universe for an ended show was often viewed as a waste of money, Disney did not merely dump its characters in most cases. There was always a chance that they might still be profitable in the future. Therefore, the main characters were given a complex all to themselves, including the villains. Of course, many were villains in real life as well as on-camera, though their off-camera relationship with the heroes were a little less hostile than their T.V. interaction. Still, it was tough being a villain when no one paid you to be evil. As a result many of them had agreed to the cease-fire between heroes and villains, and they had grudgingly lived together so far without mishap. Things went best when both sides kept to themselves.

Disney did not get them all their own houses. Houses were for movie characters. Castles were for movie characters. Beach front property were for movie characters. T.V. characters just shared an apartment building.

As Kim drove up, she spotted different faces as they went about their new lives. Killigan, with his back towards the arriving purple car, was heading toward the bus stop with his gulf clubs. The tweebs had reported that he had been gulfing with Mortimer Mouse, Mickey Mouse's rival. Kim could also see Junior and Bonnie were strolling around the pool arm-in-arm, totally lost to the world in their duo self-centerness, which nearly resulted in Hank Perkins being knocked into the pool as he was cleaning it. Hank, while not a main character, was allowed to stay because he was the only one of the residents who was willing to act as the building's caretaker. When Kim had asked him why, he had replied that it was profitable to show Disney that he was not a free-loader, which insured the survival of his business as villainy consultant. He already had clients such as Jafar, Captain Hook, Ursula, Yzma, and, rumor had it, Syndrome.

Hank gave a cheerful wave to Kim as she dragged Ron to the stairs. Putting her foot on the first step, she reflected on Hank. He was not _evil_-evil, at least not in the stereotypical way that the script-writers had satired, but he could just as easily be a hero consultant if he thought there was good money in it. As she continued the climb to their floor, she felt a little sorry that Hank had only appeared in two episodes. He might have had some interesting character development.

She reached the door of the Possibles' residence and invited Ron in, but he refused. "Not while the naco is still strong in my memory," he said with a face so serious that Kim did not know whether to laugh or to sigh. Instead she gave him her condolences as he sulked into his own residence, which was directly opposite to hers. He closed the door behind him without a backwards glance, and Kim sighed.

"One good thing about the show's ending," said a familiar voice, "is that the script-writers won't waste time making his petty problems into a subplot."

Kim bit back her retort as she remembered the terms of the cease fire and turned to face the newcomer. "It's hard on us all, Shego. Ron will adjust."

The dark-haired supervillainess tilted her head to the side. A jaded smirk appeared on her greenish features. "Like he did the first time when he groveled to Mickey Mouse to talk to the C. E. O.?"

Kim winced, but she folded her arms, ready to defend Ron. "He settled in eventually."

"After the mouse signed a restraining order."

"At least Ron did not try to blow Mickey's house up to get a fourth season."

"Doctor D. didn't grovel."

"Until the police came."

"You have your freak; I have mine."

"_Really_?"

Shego merely rolled her eyes. "Anyway," she said, holding her arms akimbo, "Drakken has some other plan to get us another season, but I'm sure Disney will have you stop him regardless."

Kim raised an eyebrow. "So, why tell me?"

"Because, unlike him, I can get used to living somewhere rent-free." Shego boredly looked at her watch before turning away. "I'd love to chat, Kimmy, but I'm meeting Malificent at the nail salon." Without another word the villainess turned the corner, and Kim soon heard her footsteps descending the stairs.

Kim pondered it over as she entered her apartment and headed for her bedroom, which the studio had been nice enough to arrange like her previous one. She kicked off her shoes and flopped onto her pink-covered bed. Laying her head on the heel of her hand, she thought of Drakken and the others. She supposed the series ending was harder on the villains than the heroes. A cartoon hero had a "happily ever after" to look forward to: doing the things you love, being with the people you love, having the careers you love. Even if you had a sequel where your happy ending became sour, you would usually get an even better one by the end or at least go back to your previous one.

As she gently kicked her legs back and forth in the air, she considered what her on-camera foes had to look forward to. They were created to be evil like she was created to be good, and they had to join life like the other inactive Disney villains. Of course, her foes were T.V. villains, not movies villains, and so had inferior rank to the more famous and more powerful ones like Jafar or Maleficent, who did not like them causing trouble in their territories.

Drakken, she figured, did not like that his chances of world domination were thwarted so completely. Sure, she beat him in every episode that he appeared, but there had always been the next adventure to look forward to, both on and off the set. Now the _Kim Possible_ world was tucked away in the Disney files, and he could not conquer this world without a fight from all the other Disney characters, evil and good. Sure, he might succeed in detonating Mickey's garage or holding Donald Duck hostage, but not only would Kim Possible be there to stop him, but also Mr. Incredible, Aladdin and Genie, Tarzan, Basil the Great Mouse Detective, and others. So, it was either keep annoying people who could hurt him or get a day job, neither of which would suit the conceited blue man. It was no wonder that he kept wanting to bring the show back--to get that one chance to have a fair game again and maybe once, just _once_, to take over their cartoon world, if only for a moment.

Shego, on the other hand, had that ability to connect with the greater Disney villains. She stole for the fun of it, and she did not try to proclaim herself world leader. She always seemed to be on the crooked path merely to enjoy the ride, not because she had a cause worth fighting for. Shego could survive, and she would have to be there for Drakken, if only to keep him from getting beaten up by everyone else.

Kim rolled over and got to her feet and went to her window, which overlooked the grassy lawn. She saw DNAmy skipping among her mutated babies. While disturbed, Amy was harmless as long as she had something to amuse herself. Since her debut she had made a nice profit genetically altering the animal sidekicks of villains who were more than willing to make their pets stronger and faster in order to get an advantage over their respective opponents. Disney had also allowed her to alter animated animals for her own amusement--as long as they were not _talking_ animals. Amy had been happy about getting paid for her hobby, though she did often cast a wistful glance at Bambi.

Thinking of DNAmy made Kim think of Monkey Fist. The kung fu expert was not a resident of the complex, perhaps due to the presence of his once canon girlfriend. Since his last episode she had not seen much of the English lord. She had once expected him to try to join up with the Mulan characters, or at least the Tarzan group, but neither had reported seeing him, nor had anyone else in a while. She was beginning to get worried for him.

Kim moved away from the window and sat down at her white computer. Well, Middleton was gone, along with all the _KP_ colleges, so she would have to apply to a cartoon university here. She had already looked at different ones like Mickey Mouse U. and Disney Princess Institute, but so far none of them really seemed to suit her, though she did fill out applications for what she had come across. She opened up her Internet and started her search again. She found a webpage for a college in Florida, but as she scanned the page, her thoughts drifted to Monkey Fist again.

Drakken was and would always be considered her arch-foe, but of all the show's villains Kim had liked watching the episodes with Monkey Fist the best. Not only did they allow Ron to shine, but the storyline was a nice touch to the series. Drakken had the more cartoony air which made their viewers laugh, but in his unintended rivalry with Ron, Monkey Fist added a new depth which the more serious-minded teenager enjoyed. She had been disappointed with how the script-writers resolved their conflict with him. They could have "redeemed" him as they did with Drakken, but instead they turned him into stone. Of course, it was not as hard for her as for his fans because she knew the real Monty Fiske had been backstage sipping a brandy while the stone replica sank into the trapdoor beneath the stage. Still, she wished that they had dealt differently with his character.

She thought of his future as she leaned back in her purplish chair. For a backstory he had had a royal title, prestige, a career, and a global following where both she and her cousin Larry admired and respected him, but, of course, he threw it away in his obsession with monkeys and kung fu. The script-writers had never explained how the obsession originated, so even he did not know. If he did not fully understand his past, how would it affect his future?

He might hire himself out as a body guard for a wicked monarch or usurper, she decided, or he might--

"Kimmy cub," her mother called. "The pizza's here."

Kim exited her window, amazed at how much time had flown. As she stood up, the Kimmunicator beeped out her famous ringtone. How she would miss that! She pulled out the device but instead of finding a video link with Wade, it was a text message from Chris Bailey, the _KP_ director.

**It's 12:53. Do you know where your villains are?**

She opened up the screen keyboard feature and used her arrow keys to make a reply.

**Not again...**

In a moment she received his response.

**Can you come over here and take out the trash?**

She sent an affirmative and pulled out her car keys. As she left the apartment, she gave a quick explanation to Dr. Ann Possible, who said she would put Kim's slice in the microwave.

Soon she was back in her car, driving to Chris's residence. Their former director did not say which enemy was bothering him, but Kim could guess. The villain would have to adjust. They would all have to adjust.

It was often assumed that since T.V. heroes were good and the villains were bad, they always had 100 percent hatred for the other 24/7. After all, the movie heroes usually finished off their foes in the films, and the movie villains were forevermore hostile towards them in the resulting franchise. They spent a few days fighting each other in the story, the villains get defeated, and everybody collected their paychecks. The heroes usually went on being good, and the villains went on being bad, unless they were reformed like Iago and Anatasia Tremaine. But... it was different with T.V. show characters. Sure, you still hated each other, and you would never hang out without a fee, like in "Stop Team Go", but you could find more... pity for your foe. You spent more screen time together than movie characters, and often different traits were unearthed that let you think they could still be redeemable.

She found she could pity each of them, even Drakken and Shego.

They would just have to adjust...


	2. Important Plot Points

"I'll have to say that I've never been to a mixed party before," Monique said as she glanced uncertainly at the throngs of characters milling about the palace grounds.

"It's a lot better than if it was movie characters only," said Lilo at her elbow. "They'd be fighting each other over everything."

The little Hawaiian girl and the teenager stood beside a fountain, studying the different sights of Aladdin and Jasmine's celebration. Monique had heard that it had started out as a reunion of characters from the canon, which extended to the allies from the 90s T.V. series. Then the celebration had become a gathering of T.V. shows, including _TaleSpin_, _Hercules_, _Tarzan_, and _Buzz Lightyear of Star Command_, but the royal couple had not merely invited characters from spin-off series. Characters from _KP_, _The Proud Family_, and other original shows had been invited as well-not all of them, though, but that was another story.

It had been surprising then, knowing Jasmine's and Aladdin's respective ways of thinking, that invitations had been sent also to the _enemies_ of the T.V. show characters. Well, even in retirement enemies did not mingle much, so that might have been the end of it, but then Hades shocked everyone by announcing he _was_ going. That got the villains' attentions, and many royal invitations were pulled from the trash and responded to immediately. However, that did not sit well with the good guys, and Jasmine and Aladdin might have had to cancel the event all together, but Genie had given assurance to their allies that things would be kept under control.

So, here they were under the night sky, eating food, dancing, and keeping distance from their enemies, but Lilo was right. If this had been only for film characters, there might have been some broken ribs by now.

As Monique and Lilo watched Aphrodite make her way around the cartoon crowd, turning the heads of even the most stubborn woman-haters, Lilo suddenly said, "That reminds me. Jasmine told me that this was supposed to be a good-guy-only event."

"Mmm-hmm," Monique nodded, glancing down at her half-empty goblet. "I can believe it," she added, motioning for Lilo to follow her. "I wonder what went wrong."

"Weeeell," Lilo began, tilting her head to the side as they walked to the refreshment area, "Hercules and Meg got invitations, but then Hades started making a big deal about it being politically incorrect to exclude villains, so then Disney told them to invite him just to shut him up. Of course, if you invite Hades, you have to invite a lot of other people."

"Bet it was some plan to mess up everyone's evening," Monique decided as an Arabian servant poured a native drink into her golden vessel.

Lilo surprised her by suddenly giggling. The older girl raised an eyebrow and asked her what was so funny, but it took a few moments for Lilo to speak without bursting into laughter again. Black eyes twinkling, Lilo at last motioned for Monique to lower her head. "Actually, Nani said the _real_ reason Hades wanted to come here was to meet girls."

Monique snorted into her drink, and the two snickered behind their hands. Monique glanced about and spotted the blue glow of Hades' hair. From what she could see he seemed to be flirting with Princess Mira, but he was not successful. Monique was not going to tell Lilo this, but she knew for a fact that Hades had tried his luck on different _KP_ girls, including Shego, Camille, and even Kim. The young woman shook her head as she watched Mira make her getaway. The guy was so pathetic he would probably ask one of his nieces for a date.

It was then that Lilo saw Stitch beckoning her, and she excused herself. Monique nodded, watching her child-friend trot off amidst the torchlight. Apparently, Stitch had met up with Icarus, who had wanted to know more about hula, and so the music changed from a slow-tempo dance to an upbeat Hawaiian song. Lilo and Stitch began dancing, and Icarus-well, it could have _passed_ for dancing, but he really moved his hips and made sounds which he must have thought was exotic. It raised a laugh anyway from the good guys and also from the villains' camp, but the laughers were henchmen who were bonked on the head by their leaders.

Monique finished her beverage and gave her goblet to a passing waiter as the drum beats raged. She started to walk around, looking for faces she knew. Well, she saw Wade, who came out of his room more often than in the series; he was talking to XR and seemed to be getting a demonstration on how different parts of the robot worked. Monique guessed that the friendly discussion would soon turn into a debate about whether all of Star Command or Wade himself had the best technology. Dr. James Possible had been talking to Buzz Lightyear, but he seemed now to be interested in the hula dancing, which could not be said of Buzz. Jim and Tim were at the snack bar with the Wegos, and the four boys were loading their plates. Hego and Hercules were flexing their muscles, which did not seem to impress Megara. Monique noticed that Shego was conviently absent from the festivities.

The green villainess was not the only who did not attend. Kim had received a message from Mulan that Monkey Fist had been sighted, and Kim had gone off to look for him. She had told Monique that she would come to the party as soon as she had found the monkey man, but the celebration had already been going on for four hours without a word from Kim. Ron had not gone with her, having had to baby-sit Hana, but Kim had Mulan, Shang, and the Chinese army to help her. Monique wondered just how hard it could be to catch Monkey Fist.

As the hula song drew to a close, Genie suddenly appeared in a flash and called for a limbo. The Hawaiian music was replaced by a Caribbean rhythm, and several sidekicks and henchmen were pulled into the line. Unsure, they started under the pole, some falling, but they soon began to get into it. It actually looked like fun, and Monique considering joining them when the tail of her eye caught sight of movement. Her reflexes made her stop, and she turned to look, but she only saw the line of trees by the wall. She dismissed it and began to avert her attention, but then she saw it again by a tree, this time with a glint of light. Curious, Monique stepped toward it carefully, focusing her eyes on the object, and she soon made out an arm holding a goblet.

Well, if someone was hanging out in the shadows, it would not be a good guy. She took a step back, ready to head back to the well-lit area of the festivities, but the aloof guest moved away from the tree and sauntered to the edge of the shadows, seemingly unaware of her presence. She could not see his face, but Monique recognized his silhouette: the messy hair, large nose, sharp chin, and thin frame could only belong to one person in the _KP_ universe.

She excitedly reached into her pocket, still backing away as quietly as she could, and withdrew her phone. Kim would freak when she knew about this! Her eyes shifted, looking for the best place to make her call, but that was when the guest turned. Monique froze, but it was no use.

The guest paused, facing her, but then there was a scoff. "The cheerleader's other sidekick," came the slightly drowned out male voice mingled with indifference and irritation.

Monique held one arm akimbo, jutting her hip to the side. "Well, the cheerleader's other sidekick has a name, monkey boy."

"Indeed."

He turned his back to her and began moving away, and Monique's mind raced for an excuse to keep Monkey Fist around. Kim would not be happy if he disappeared again without a trace, and Monique knew how her best friend felt about his well-being.

"You know," she said quickly as the monkey man stepped into the torchlight, "I thought it was a part of the truce for you villains to show up once in a while so that Kim could report our sitch to Disney."

Monkey Fist looked over his shoulder, halting suddenly. "True. That's part of the guidelines for all residents of the apartment building where I _don't_ live."

Monique was unfazed. "I'm sure _Kim_ would like to know what you've been up to."

"As would the police, I'm sure," he replied dryly. He half-turned, boredly playing with the goblet in his hand, and said, "If I'm such a vital part to Kim Possible's dreary existence, you can tell her that I've been visiting McCorkle and Schooley."

"The creators?" Monique was taken aback.

Monkey Fist smirked in the moonlight. "I'd love to chat," he said with mock-courtesy, "but I have more significant things I must take care of."

Before she could respond he had disappeared into the shadows.

xxx

After he had put Hana to bed, Ron sat on the blue couch of the living room area and stretched. Well, Han was liking apartment life. She was already climbing steps, and she loved to ascend dog-like up to their floor, giggling and babbling as her parents and brother tried to keep up. The little tyke would be something when she was grown... if she ever did grow.

Ron sighed. He knew that Kim thought he was just being a baby about the show's ending, and... well, yeah, he was upset for his own interests, but it was not the whole story. His friends and family also had things at stake that had been altered with the finale. Kim had lost a series that was named after her-_named_ after her! It meant she would just be another memory as the next generation was wowed by future shows, just like _Bonkers_, _Darkwing Duck_, and a whole mess of others had become. How would both of them adjust when their reason for existence was gone forever?

Then there was his family. Sure, his parents would probably enjoy retirement: they would stay youthful and continue with their daily lives, but what about Han? She was a cartoon baby, but unless there was a spin-off or college years, she would stay the way she was-like Baby Herman.

He would stay by his sister and support her, of course, but he did not like to think of how Han would feel when her mind was advanced but she still wore diapers. How would that all work? When she was sixteen, would she go to the mall with high school cartoons and eat baby food while her friends ate pizza? What if she wanted to get married but was limited to other babies who she might not even like?

Ron laid his head on the couch cushion, staring at the ceiling. What _could_ he do? Should he file a request for Hana's own cartoon series? Or a comic book where she aged a little? But then what if Disney did not go for it?

If all doors were closed, he would help Hana wherever she needed him, but... wasn't there something still opened?

xxx

Monkey Fist was gone by the time Kim arrived at the party. He could not have taken anything since Genie had defenses placed around the palace to prevent thievery, evidenced by a lightning bolt that struck Panic when he tried to walk off with the silverware. It was plausible that he had come to meet someone, but none of the non-_KP_ villains at the party had been interested in him enough to do business, viewing him as a freak, and when she asked the _KP_ villains about him, they claimed that they had not known he was there. Her foes were all liars, of course, but Kim could tell when they were telling the truth.

Genie had helped her track Monkey Fist to the edge of the _Aladdin_ canon, but it was a puzzle after that. Genie's "magic" was limited to where the _Aladdin_ universe stretched, and it was hard for him to do anything "magical" if their story did not have a crossover with another series. If Monkey Fist had gone over to _Hercules_, it would have been different because Disney had allowed the two stories to merge once. Now Kim had to rely on her wits and technology to track him.

After thanking Genie Kim sent a text message to McCorkle and Schooley, respectively. Due to the late hour she would probably not hear from either of them until morning, but she was content to wait.

xxx

"I don't _believe_ it!" Kim ejaculated, glaring at the Kimmunicator's screen.

"What, Kimmy?" her mother asked from her place at the breakfast table.

Kim handed her the device, pointing to the new text message. "Both McCorkle and Schooley are refusing to tell me what Monkey Fist wanted!" She had waited until morning for some response, and this was all that she could get?

Dr. Ann, meanwhile, squinted at the printed letters before her and quirked her eyebrows. "'Client confidentiality'? What business could they be doing with him?"

"That's what I'm going to find out."

Her father tilted his head, and Kim could tell that he thought it was not worth pursuing. "If McCorkle and Schooley are in on it, maybe it's not illegal," he pointed out.

"Maybe," Kim admitted, "but Monkey Fist is up to something."

"What could he be doing?" Jim asked. "His castle's gone, the show's over-"

"-and he has no way of taking over the world with monkey powers," his twin added. "The bad guys wouldn't like it if he tried invading anything."

They had a point. Monkey Fist was unlikely to cause much damage now that he had the other villains to deal with, but Kim could not let it go that easily. "He's persistent," she said, "and he's always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. That promises trouble."

"Uh-huh," her brothers said in unison, unconvinced.

Suddenly, her parents' phones beeped, and the two doctors checked the time. "Sorry, kids," her mother said as she and her husband headed for the door. "We have to go."

"But let us know what you find out," Dr. James added.

As the front door closed, red-shirted Tim turned to his sister with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you so interested in him anyway?"

"Yeah," said Jim. "You've been so concerned for him, but he'd kill you if he got the chance."

"It's a good guy thing," she explained. "If your foe is about to die, you try to save them if you can." She looked down at the Kimmunicator and, frowning, deleted the text message. "Now that I know Monkey Fist is alright, though, I can start seeing what he's been up to."

"I bet he asked to be turned into a full monkey," Jim said before taking another bite of eggs.

"Or to get more monkey powers," Tim added.

"Not that he could use them for much," Jim put in.

"Better to be safe than sorry," Kim replied, practical as usual. She pressed a button on the Kimmunicator to talk to Wade, but she merely got his answering machine. She left a message for him to call her back and then switched over to the Internet feature.

Well, she had been denied information before, and she had found out what she had wanted anyway. She would just have to keep an ear open for any whispers from the underground and have Wade check for any activity that looked suspicious. Sure, McCorkle and Schooley's interaction with Monkey Fist would be legal, but the Monkey Master's next step was a different matter.

If he tried anything, she would be there to stop him.


End file.
